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Social court proceedings; filing a complaint with the social court

You can file a complaint with the social court in the event of disputes about social law claims.

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  • Klageformular

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Bayerisches Landessozialgericht

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Ludwigstr. 15
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80539 München

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Sozialgericht München

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Richelstr. 11
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80634 München

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Procedure details

Disputes about social law claims can be brought before the social courts. According to the Social Courts Act, there are

  • Social courts (1st instance),
  • state social courts (2nd instance) and
  • the Federal Social Court in Kassel (3rd instance).

The jurisdiction of the social courts extends to all public law disputes arising from social insurance (health insurance, accident insurance, pension insurance, old-age insurance for farmers), unemployment insurance and employment promotion, war victims' pensions and the law on statutory health insurance physicians, as well as other areas of law assigned by law (e.g. basic income support for jobseekers). e.g. basic income support for jobseekers, social welfare, benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, parental allowance, Bavarian family allowance, nursing care insurance, Bavarian allowance for the blind, soldiers' pensions, vaccination injuries, victims of violence, ID cards for severely disabled people).

The social courts are not responsible for disputes relating to youth welfare, war victims' welfare and equalization of burdens (the administrative courts are responsible for these).

The social court in whose district the claimant has their registered office or place of residence at the time the action is brought or, if this is not the case, their place of residence; if the claimant is employed, they may also bring an action before the social court with jurisdiction for the place of employment. If the plaintiff has their registered office or place of residence or domicile abroad, the social court in whose district the defendant has their registered office or place of residence or, failing this, their place of residence, shall have local jurisdiction.

The parties involved in the 1st and 2nd instances may conduct the proceedings themselves or be represented by authorized representatives (e.g. association representatives, lawyers, family members of legal age, trade unions and employers' associations). Representation before the Federal Social Court by lawyers, university lecturers qualified to hold judicial office or association representatives is mandatory, except for authorities and public corporations.

The social court investigates the facts of the case ex officio. The parties involved must be consulted, but the court is not bound by the submissions and requests for evidence made by the parties involved. The court decides by judgment following an oral hearing. With the agreement of the parties involved, the court may decide by judgment without an oral hearing. If the case does not present any particular difficulties of a factual or legal nature and the facts of the case have been clarified, the social court can decide by court order without an oral hearing and without honorary judges in order to speed up the proceedings.

A lawsuit can be filed in the event of legal disputes regarding social law claims.

  • Initial decision on which the application is based
  • issued notice of opposition

The procedure begins with the complaint to the social court, which must be submitted in writing, via electronic legal correspondence or for the record of the registry. It is not permitted to submit a complaint by e-mail, but electronic legal communication is also available to citizens. Information on how you can communicate digitally with the court can be found via further links under Information on electronic legal transactions. In principle, an action against an administrative act is only admissible after a preceding preliminary procedure (so-called objection procedure), which is concluded with the issuing of the notice of objection.

There are no court costs for insured persons, benefit recipients and disabled persons or their special legal successors if they are involved in the proceedings in this capacity; the other parties (e.g. insurance providers) must pay a fee for each dispute regardless of the outcome of the dispute. In other proceedings (e.g. between employers and insurance providers, insurance providers among themselves or doctors and associations of statutory health insurance physicians), costs are incurred in accordance with the Court Costs Act.

Each party must initially bear the costs of representation in all instances. However, the court must decide in the judgment or by order on application whether and to what extent the parties involved must reimburse each other's costs. With a few exceptions, the costs of the authorities and insurance providers are not to be reimbursed. In social court proceedings, lawyers' fees are based on the German Lawyers' Fees Act (RVG), according to which fees are generally charged on the basis of fixed amounts. Depending on the work involved, the lawyer may earn a procedural fee, an appointment fee and a settlement fee in a legal dispute. In addition, the lawyer must be reimbursed for necessary expenses.

If a party is demonstrably unable to pay the costs in court and is not represented by a representative of the association, he or she can apply for legal aid and be assigned a lawyer appointed by him or her or, at his or her request, a lawyer selected by the court.

As a rule, an appeal to the social court must be filed within one month (within 3 months if the notification is made abroad) of the notification of the objection decision.

The objection must be submitted in writing or for recording within one month of notification of the administrative act to the office that issued the administrative act (initial decision of the authority). The deadline is also deemed to have been met if the notice of appeal has been received by another domestic authority, an insurance institution or a German consular authority.

In principle, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure apply to compulsory enforcement, with certain deviations with regard to enforceability. Enforcement in favor of public authorities and public corporations is governed by the Administrative Enforcement Act.

Legal remedies are appeal, revision and complaint.

Appeals against judgments and court decisions of the Social Court may be lodged with the Regional Social Court within one month (within 3 months if served abroad). In certain cases, an appeal is excluded by law. If it is not permitted by the social court in the judgment or court order, an appeal against the non-admission can be lodged with the regional social court within one month.

An appeal can be lodged with the Federal Social Court against judgments of the state social court if it has been permitted by the state social court or by the Federal Social Court following an appeal against non-admission. In certain cases, an appeal can also be lodged against judgments of the Social Court to the Federal Social Court (i.e. without prior appeal proceedings). The deadline for lodging an appeal is one month after service of the judgment or the decision to allow the appeal (3 months if served abroad). The appeal must be substantiated within 2 months.

The regional social court decides on appeals against other social court decisions. All judgments and decisions are accompanied by full instructions on how to appeal.

Status: 22.01.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Familie, Arbeit und Soziales
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